Kirk Herbstreit ranks top players of college football Week 9

Week 9’s college football slate brought no shortage of highlight reel plays and big-time performances from across the country over the weekend.

Following another eventful week, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit ran through his picks and ranked the top seven performing players in his eyes across an exciting list of games.

1. Suntarine Perkins – Ole Miss

The Oklahoma offensive line had no answer for the Ole Miss defensive front seven on Saturday — particularly against Suntarine Perkins. The sophomore linebacker logged a whopping 4.0 sacks against the Sooners to go with 11 total tackles.

Perkins now has 8.5 sacks this season after his breakout performance, which is tied for second-most in the SEC. He’s also third-best on the team in tackles through nine weeks, totaling 41. The only others ahead of him are fellow linebackers Chris Paul Jr. and TJ Dottery.

2. Marcel Reed – Texas A&M

Marcel Reed came in and sparked the Texas A&M offense alive, scoring three second-half touchdowns against LSU en route to a convincing 38-23 win.

Reed finished with just two passing attempts, but those attempts went for 70 yards. He also took nine carries for 62 yards and the aforementioned three touchdowns — all of which came on the ground. Whether he becomes the full-time Aggies starter moving forward remains to be seen.

3. Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter – Colorado

Colorado improved to 6-2 over the weekend thanks to the efforts of Shedeur Sanders offensively and Travis Hunter on both sides of the ball. Sanders completed 25 of his 30 passes for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Those touchdowns were both caught by Hunter, who ended up hauling in nine receptions for 153 yards during the contest. He also was an issue for Cincinnati on defense, and Hunter was awarded both Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors. He’s the first player to ever earn both honors in the same week.

4. Max Brosmer – Minnesota

Max Brosmer threw for a season-high four touchdowns against Maryland over the weekend to secure Minnesota‘s third win in a row after a 2-3 start to the season.

Not only did he score at a high volume, but much like Shedeur Sanders, he was incredibly accurate. Completing 26 of 33 passes for 320 yards without throwing an interception, the Gophers cruised to a 48-23 win over the Terrapins.

5. John Mateer – Washington State

Washington State called on their captain quarterback John Mateer to do a little bit of everything against San Diego State in Week 9. Defeating the Aztecs 29-26, Mateer threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Cougars improved to 7-1 on the season.

Mateer was responsible for all of Washington State’s touchdowns against SDSU. The game propelled Mateer across the 2,000-yard passing mark for the season.

6. Jarquez Hunter – Auburn

Jarquez Hunter put up video game numbers on Kentucky‘s defense on the road, totaling 278 yards on 23 carries to go with two touchdowns. It was his first game of the senior running back’s career where he surpassed 200 yards.

His performance helped lift Auburn over the Wildcats 24-10, snapping a four-game losing streak for Auburn and securing the team’s first SEC win of the year.

7. Kaimon Rucker – North Carolina

North Carolina‘s defense recorded 10 total sacks during Saturday’s 41-14 win over Virginia in Week 9. EDGE Kaimon Rucker was responsible for 3.5 of them.

The big-time defensive showcase from the Tar Heels comes at a pivotal point in the season for them. Improving them to 4-4 on the season as UNC still searches for a bowl berth before the end of the 2024 college football season.